Father Andrew M. Greeley, priest, sociologist, journalist, and a well-known novelist, died Wednesday night in his sleep. He was 85. Fr. Greeley was among the most influential Roman Catholic thinkers and writers of our time. He was a priest, sociologist, journalist, and a well-known novelist. He was famous for his wit and his unflinching commitment to challenging the church and other religious communities to meaningful engagement in the world.
REA:APPRRE Members will recall that Fr. Greeley delivered the opening plenary at the 2008 Annual Meeting in Chicago on “How Stories About God Get Written.” As he left the meeting, he suffered a terrible injury. His clothing caught on the door of a taxi as it pulled away and he was thrown to the pavement, resulting in severe head injuries. His daughter told the New York Times “he had been in poor health and under 24-hour care [ever] since.” An obituary appears in the New York Times.